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Tuesday, August 6

Cadbury set to slash calorie limits of chocolate bars in bid to tackle obesity.

Cadbury is set to cut the calories of popular chocolate bars such as Chomp and Fudge in a bid to make them healthier. The confectionery giant is set to shrink some of its most famous treats as part of plans drawn up to tackle the childhood obesity crisis . This means family favourites such as the Curly Wurly will be reduced to 100 calories by the end of next year. It comes as Public Health England says firms must use less fattening ingredients or cut product sizes in order to help beat obesity.

Now Cadbury is set to cut the size of some individual snacks but has admitted only some treats will see a reduction in price. A Curly Wurly is set to become slightly smaller in order to reduce its calories from 118 to 100, and the calorific content of a Cadbury Fudge is set to fall from 114. Meanwhile, the individual packs of Cadbury Mini Fingers and Mini Animals could be shrunk from next month. Louise Stigant, UK Managing Director at Cadbury's owner Mondelēz International, said the firm was committed to tackling the health crisis. She said: "We want to play our part in tackling childhood obesity and are focusing on the areas where we can make the greatest impact."Our brands have been around for hundreds of years and play a special role in people's lives as treats to be enjoyed in moderation."We want to support parents when they choose to give their children a treat and introducing this calorie cap will make it simpler for them to find a treat under 100 calories that children will enjoy."Cadbury also recently reduced the sugar in Maynards Bassetts Wine Gums by 30 per cent and is set to do the same with Jelly Babies.

It comes as figures show there has been a near-50 per cent rise in the number of overweight children being treated for Type 2 diabetes. Last year, Public Health England urged parents to limit snacks to a maximum of two 100-calorie treats a day. A shocking survey found that primary school children have at least three sugary snacks a day. Now Mondelēz International has said it decided to slash the size of the snacks in order to align with advice from the government body. It comes as Cadbury changed the recipe of its famous Dairy Milk bar for the first time in 114 years last month.

The new bar, which has 30pc less sugar, took three years to develop and is now on sale alongside the traditional bar. Ms Stigant added: “The motivation for this is not about price. This is about creating products that are less than 100 calories."If we want to play our part taking action over childhood obesity, this is a really important way of doing it."